A Severe Battle

A SEVERE BATTLE

The Fighting at Djumaa the Hardest This Year—Macedonians Lost Half Their Men.

LONDON TIMES-NEW YORK TIMESSpecial Cablegram.

LONDON, May 8.—The recent fighting at Djumaa, says the Sofia correspondent of The Times, appears to have been the most severe this year. Six Macedonian bands were engaged, mostly composed of men who had served in the Bulgarian Army.

The fighting began on April 27 near the village of Selishte. The insurgents were pressed hard from the outset, the Turks showing unusual activity, which is ascribed to the presence of German officers- The bands were dispersed, losing half their number in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The Turkish casualties were possibly 150.

The fighting was most obstinate, the insurgents throwing dynamite bombs, which, it is reported, did great execution at close quarters. Three of the Macedonians' leaders were slain. Protogeroff, who was three times wounded, asked a comrade to kill him, but the other succeeded in taking Protogeroff across the frontier.

The Turks were informed of the presence of the bands by Bulgarian frontier guards firing as the insurgents crossed the border.